Margaret Etienne Hannah Crewe-Milnes, Marchioness of Crewe CI JP known to her friends as Peggy,[1] (1 January 1881 – 13 March 1967), styled as Countess of Crewe from 1899 until 1911; was a Rothschild family heiress, and after the death in 1929 of her father, the former Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, she was said to be the richest woman in England. From 1922 she spent six years in Paris after her husband was made British Ambassador to France.[2]
The Marchioness of Crewe | |
|---|---|
_Crewe-Milnes,_Marchioness_of_Crewe,_by_Glyn_Philpot.jpg) Portrait of Margaret (Peggy) Crewe-Milnes, Marchioness of Crewe, by Glyn Philpot | |
| Born | Margaret Etienne Hannah Primrose 1 January 1881 |
| Died | 13 March 1967 (aged 86) |
| Other names | Peggy Crewe-Milnes |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Richard Crewe-Milnes, Earl of Madeley Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives |
|
During World War II she was much involved with organizations to help Free French in Britain, founding the French in Great Britain Fund in 1940. After the war, in June 1946 she was awarded the highest French order of merit, the Knight of the Legion of Honour. She and her husband bought West Horsley Place in Sussex on their return from Paris.[3] She was also decorated with the award of Imperial Order of the Crown of India.[4]
She was one of the first female justices of the peace in London, appointed as a magistrate in 1919 after the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919.[5]
Family
editHer mother, Hannah, was the daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild and her father was Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery.[6] She was born in The Durdans, Epsom, Surrey, the second of their children, after her older sister, Sybil. She also had two younger brothers, Harry and Neil. She was nine years old when her mother died in 1890[7]
She married Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, the Earl of Crewe, at Westminster Abbey on 15 April 1899.[4][8] According to The New York Times, the wedding had "no parallel in recent history, except for the Queen's Jubilee," which they attributed to her father's political career.[9] At her wedding, Crewe-Milnes received a number of rare books as wedding gifts from her guests.[10]
In 1911, Crewe-Milnes had two children: a son, Richard (1911–1922),[11] and a daughter, Mary Crewe-Milnes, who was born in 1915 and married George Innes-Ker, the 9th Duke of Roxburghe, in 1935.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Margaret Etienne Hannah ('Peggy') Crewe-Milnes (née Primrose), Marchioness of Crewe". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The Wartime Work of The Marchioness of Crewe". West Horsley Place. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The Wartime Work of The Marchioness of Crewe". West Horsley Place. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Primrose, Lady Margaret". Epsom & Ewell History Explorer. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ Law, Cheryl (2000). Women, A Modern Political Dictionary. I B Tauris. p. 49. ISBN 1-86064-502-X.
- ^ "Margaret Crewe-Milnes, Marchioness of Crewe". West Horsley Place. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The British Premier". The Qu'Appelle Progress. 10 May 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Rosebery's Daughter Weds". Boston Evening Transcript. 20 April 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Wild Over Rosebery". Manufacturers and Farmers Journal. The New York Times. 24 April 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "New Fad in Wedding Gifts". St. John Daily Sun. 17 May 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Titled Baby's Brief Life Exciting". The Gazette Times. 3 December 1911. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe - obituary". The Telegraph. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Scottish Peer to Marry". The Glasgow Herald. 11 June 1935. Retrieved 20 March 2024.